Dragon Vignettes
by Daphne22
Summary: A series of vignettes from various perspectives, spanning Jake's life.
1. Baby

**I am currently madly in love with the idea of the whole American Dragon series. The following is a just a series of vingettes that tell the story of Jakes life as it sort of inhabits my imagination. Some things small things and some very large things will be rather inconsistant with the series, sometimes because I'm oblivious to what actually might have been said in the series and sometimes because there are things I want to change for my own story.**

**I don't own any of these characters, but I certainly look forward to playing with them.**

**-Daphne**

She could tell by the certain glow of his skin, by the gleam of his eyes, what her baby was.

"You have to tell David," her father told her sternly.

"I know," she said. "I will," she assured him, but in her heart she was unsure. How would her husband make sense of what she had to say? She had fleeting nightmares of him running away, of a cold bed and the thought of raising a child without his smile, without his deep gentle laugh. It was more than enough to hold her tongue still.

She looked at the warm infant cradled in her arms. His black eyes shined up at her. She smiled at him and stroked his cheek. She was used to those eyes, they were her father's eyes. Looking at those eyes, the eyes of her baby, she remembered her own strange childhood in a land far away.

The world she'd grown up in had been a magical one. She'd had sprites and Kirin as playmates as a girl, not to mention grumpy old Fuu dog as a reluctant companion and baby sitter. Her father had adored her. Her mother had died shortly after she was born and his affection was for her alone. She had flown across the sky in his arms and seen a thousand secret places in the world. She didn't mind being the daughter of a dragon, just a mortal girl.

At least not too much.

And then had come David, sweet bumbling David, with his wide smile and his terrible Chinese. He was kind and sincere even if he was in some ways simple. Yet she loved him even more for it. He had only come to Shang-hi for a vacation; he left with a wife.

And now baby makes three, she thought gently stroking back the black fuzz on her baby's head. I love you, I love you, I love you. She thought. My little boy. My darling baby. My little dragon.


	2. Just a little dragon

There was a terrible thunder storm that night, full of thunder and pounding rain. She wasn't surprised to here a small scream down the hall. To a two year old boy, she thought, it must seem as if the world is falling apart.

He was curled up in a circle, hidden underneath the blankets of his small child's bed. She pulled back the sheets a little and whispered to him softly. "Jakey, its okay. Mommy's here."

The terrified round bundled under the sheets was less a young boy than a small wonder. Curled up on the bed was a tiny dragon, larger than the little boy, but still very small for a dragon. His head was cradled between his arms and his tail curled up to his mouth where he was sucking on the end of it. She ran her hand down his neck and rubbed on his back, marveling at how soft the tiny scales were. The wings her hand ran between seemed so small and delicate, not even the size of her hand. Lightening flashed again illuminating the brilliant color of the scales. The body which had begun to relax at her touch crunched up again.

"Oh, my Jake. It's okay. It's okay Jake. It's just the storm. Mommy's here." She reached down to pick him up. He let the tail fall from his mouth and wrapped his arms around her neck burying his face in her shoulder. "Do you want to come sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room?" Those glowing black eyes looked up at her and his head slowly nodded up and down.

"Alright," she said, gently setting him on the bed. "I need you to calm down, then. Go back to the other way." She reached over and gently wiped the tears that still stained his cheek. The little red dragon head looked down.

"Okay," he mumbled in his child's voice. The dragon slowly melted into the boy, still frightened, still with those gleaming eyes. She swore she could see small fires slowly melting away, all around his skin. Then she picked him up and took him to bed.


	3. Odd Man Out

The uptown subway came to an ungraceful halt jolting its crowded passengers. David Long was knocked a few inches to the left accidentally hitting the woman next to him with his briefcase.

"I'm sorry," he quickly apologized. The woman smiled at him and nodded. It was rush hour and, like so many others used to the daily commute, she understood.

As the subway lurched out of the station, David held onto the horizontal bar and stared out the window at the dark subway walls flying past. He hated to admit it, but there was a small part of him that didn't want to get off at his stop and gohome where his family was waiting for him, including, undoubtably, his father-in-law, Lao Shi. It wasn't that David minded that Lao Shi had moved to New York. As things stood, he rather liked the eccentric old man with his old clothes, his fu man chu and his superstitions.

The train came to yet another embarrasing halt as it pulled into the station. This time David managed not to smack anyone with his briefcase, but he was pressed unpleasantly further back into the crowded car, his left shoulder smashed against the woman next to him, his right pressed against a tall man who was talking loudly toa friend. David gave the woman next to him a "what can you do smile" and raised his eyebrows. She smiled back and rolled her eyes, laughing a little. David turned his head again and stared out the window watching the still full platform rush by and then disappear again into the the darkness of the tunnel.

The problem was that ever sinse Lao Shi had arrived David had somehow felt out of place in his own family. As if there were some secret that his wife and her father shared. Even his ten year old son and his seven year old daughter seemed to be in on it. David had tried to pin down what made him feel that way. It wasn't his awful Chinese. Although his wife and her father spoke Chinese as their first language, it had rarely been spoken before Lao Shi arrived, so Jake and Haley understood little of it. There was just something, something indescribable in thier eyes that he knew was missing in his own.

The train stopped, managing this time not throw any passangers across the train. It was a major transfer point and the majority of the passangers in the car got off, including the woman who had been standing next to him and the loud man on his other side. There was room in front of David to sit down. He did so, placing the briefcase across his lap. The car felt empty and oddly private now, dispite the other passangers filling up the seats. David suddenly felt tired, the work of the day finally settling in on his shoulders. The next stop on the train would be his. He would get out, walk the few blocks home, kiss his wife and hug his children.

Yes, that would be what he would do. He was looking forward to it.


	4. Bar Mitzvah?

**Thank youso much to Wanderer, kIrEigIrL, coolgirlc, and Lunar Lilly Muse for your kind words! Sorry, it took me so long to update, life got busy and NaNoRiMo (National Novel Writing Month) distracted me. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.**

**-Daphne**

Everyone had to be something. Some kids were Asian, some were Indian, Trixie was black, and Spud's family way back had been Irish. And Jake was a dragon. Everybody had to be something. It wasn't necessarily something he thought about a lot, probably not more than Trixie thought about being black. But today was different. Today being a dragon meant something, something big. And today Jake couldn't stop thinking about it.

A tater tot flew past Jake's head. "Earth to Jake! I'm talking to you, man!" Trixie glared at him from the other side of the lunchroom table.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about some stuff."

"It must have been some big stuff to be more important than you friends." Jake cringed and almost said something, but Trixie plowed forward. "I was saying we should do something after school, since its your birthday and all."

"I told you, Trixie. We're doing my birthday on Friday, since today's a school night. Remember? Laser tag?" Jake mimed pointing a gun at Trixie. "Ptwu! Ptwu!" He pretended to shoot her.

"I know that. What I'm saying is we should do something after school, since today is your actual birthday and all."

"Chucky Cheese!" Spud burst in. Trixie looked at him disapprovingly.

"We are not going to some lame ass kids' pizza shop."

Spud looked visibly disappointed. "But I like those little mole things. You know the ones that pop up and you can hit them with that whacker thing? I'm all like, bam! bam! take that you stupid mole! Wham!" Spud's hand came down on a milk carton ,spilling milk across the table, just missing Jake. "Oops." Spud smiled sheepishly. Trixie grabbed the nearest pile of napkins and started soaking up the mess.

"We could go down to Times Square and go to The Broadway Arcade."

"Do they have the mole smasher game?" Spud brightened up.

"I guess so..." Trixie started. Jake waved his hands in the air cutting her off.

"Thanks guys, I'd love to, but I really can't go out today. I've got a family thing and I've got to get home after school."

"You can still come to the arcade for a bit." Trixie argued.

"No, really. I've got to go home. You see turning thirteen is kind of this big thing in my family and... and..." Jake struggled for the words. And I have to begin my responsibilities as a dragon! He thought "And it's a tradition." He finished out loud.

"What are you suddenly Jewish, now?" Trixie asked. Spud placed a hand on Trixie's shoulder and gave her a very serious look.

"Trixie, Jake's not Jewish. He's Asian. _Asian._" Trixie smacked Spud's hand off her shoulder.

"I know that."

"Look guys," Jake didn't want the conversation to get much further, "I don't really know what the big deal is, okay? It's just a family thing" Trixie and Spud both seemed to accept that answer and Trixie started talking about the new half pipe in Morningside Park. Jake tried to pay attention, but his stomach was flipping around in excitement and he kept noticing his feet tapping nervously on the floor.

Everyone had to be something and Jake was a dragon. And today was a good day to be a dragon.


	5. Wings

Very few people realize that one of the things skydivers love so much is the feeling of peace that a person feels hovering so far above the Earth. Jake was one of those few people. That a skydiver must feel what he felt was a realization that occurred to him, one day soaring above Manhattan.

Jake loved flying. Today was one of those rare days when his grandfather gave him permission to glide above the landscape looking over his territory. Staring over the parks and buildings below, he realized that a skydiver in a parachute must have some idea of what he felt. Up so high, the world was perfectly quiet and somehow still, despite the wind. The world below was beautiful and at once distant and unreal.

Of course, there were things that Jake felt that skydivers would never know. When Jake looked at the far away earth, he could clearly see individuals in perfect detail. He watched people and creatures as they went about their days, talking, playing, working, and hustling. He kept his eyes open for anything that looked odd.

He felt the wind as his wings cut through it and it rushed over his back. He soared up and dropped back down at rapid speeds, only to shoot up again. The freedom was dizzying.

Jake all but stopped and looked at the ground beneath him. His eyes moved over the East River, and the Stock Exchange, Central Park, and Harlem. He looked at the mundane bridges and buildings, but he saw the magical, too. The city between Noho and Soho, the centaurs on their way home from work, the unicorns, and the mermaids. And it's my job to look after it all, he thought.

With a shriek of adolescent joy the young dragon was off again, rushing though the wind, even as he knew, far below, his grandfather was cursing him for being late again.


	6. A rose

**Thanks again, for the good reviews! Writing makes me even happier when I know people are enjoying it.**

**Also, I think I should explain something, in case anyone doesn't know what a vignette is. A vignette is just a small bit of a story rather like a snap shot. They can add up to make a story (and they will!) but each piece isn't necessarily a story in and of itself. Sorry for any confusion with the title. I suppose I should have just said ficlets or something but its not quite the same thing...**

**Anyway, less talk, more fiction!**

**-Daphne**

Rose pressed down her pen, a small circle of ink welling up underneath it. Normally Rose didn't space out in class but Rotwood's lectures could put a hyper two year old to sleep. Instead she was doodling, this way at least she looked like she was taking notes. She drew a long stemmed rose in the margin, careful to detail the thorns, and two perfectly styled leaves. She liked drawing roses, it was her doodling signature in a way.

"Mr. Long, are you paying attention!" Professor Rotwood's voice boomed over the class, bringing Rose to attention as well. She looked over at Jake. He faked a confident smile.

"Of course I was, Mr. Rotwood."

"That's Professor!"

"Right, sorry Professor Rotwood." Jake cringed slightly.

"Now what was I just talking about?"

Jake took a deep breath. Rose kept watching him. There was something weirdly fascinating about him. It was something in the way he moved and smiled. Mostly it was something about his attitude, the way he was over confident but not annoying.

"You were saying something about mythical creatures?"

"Wonderful. Now what kind of mythical creatures?"

"Uh, dragons?" He guessed, his voice breaking a little. So cute, Rose thought.

"And what about dragons?" Professor Rotwood paced back to his desk and hit it loudly with his ruler. Everyone in the class jumped.

"Um, you were saying how every culture in the world has dragons and that they're always really good guys and really killer awesome?" Rotwood's face didn't move. "And handsome!" Jake added grinning broadly.

Inwardly Rose recoiled at this. He didn't know dragons like she did. But everyone laughed when Jake said "And handsome!" and she did too. It was pretty funny the way he said it.

"No, Mr. Long!" Professor Rotwood hit the desk again with his ruler. "That's detention for you again! Tonight!"

"Aw, man." Jake slunk back in his seat sullenly.

"Dragons, are not always nice. In fact in many cultures their not. In Europe particularly, they are associated with the devil..." Rotwood drowned on. Jake glanced over at Rose and she realized that she was still looking at him. She smiled a little and her cheeks turned faintly pink. She quickly turned her head back to her doodling.

She did, notice, however, that Jake had smiled back and her heart was, ever so slightly, beating faster.


End file.
